Having amassed more than two million followers on Instagram, walked the runway at age 13, been named one of Kiss FM’s youngest New Next Up Artists, opened for superstar Ava Max in front of thousands and starred in multiple films and television shows, it is safe to say that Indiana Massara is a multi-hyphenate.
The 18-year-old Australian talent is starring in the A.J. Tesla-directed comedy, Hero Mode, now in theaters and streaming. “Even though I have been acting since I was 11 years old, I definitely had a sense that I needed to prove that I can really do this,” she explains. The feel-good film that follows a teenage coding genius who is tasked with saving his family video game company also stars Mira Sorvino (Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Mighty Aphrodite) and Sean Astin (The Goonies, Stranger Things). “I tried to take everything in because obviously I’m a little baby actor compared to all of them,” says Massara, who plays the leading character Paige, and also performs in the film and on the soundtrack.
Indiana Massara in the film “Hero Mode” (photo courtesy of “Hero Mode”)
“It was definitely different for me. I’d never really done any kind of pop punk music before. You should have seen me in the recording session–I was so nervous,” she says of recording “Brainstorm” for Hero Mode. “But, the writers, producers and engineers were amazing to work with. They were super kind and walked me through the whole thing. As much as I’ve recorded before, I’d never done something like that so it was definitely new for me.”
Massara’s experience recording expands from her own solo music and her podcast with friend Zach Justice to viral TikTok videos that simply aim to showcase Massara’s sense of humor. “Honestly, I view TikTok as just a place to have fun. I feel like sometimes social media platforms can be like work and I definitely got lost in that for a while but at the end of the day, people are following me. They’re not following Indiana as a business. They’re following Indiana as a person,” she says of TikTok. “Once I switched over into that mindset, I was able to just have fun with the app.”
Juggling music, film, social media and more can’t be easy but somehow Indiana Massara does it all with an entertaining and charming edge.
Hero Mode is in theaters and streaming now.
Main photo by Angella Choe
